A fantastic Guatemalan rum, which offers wonderful luxuriant flavours at a very reasonable price. Bortan’s warehouses are found high in the Guatemalan mountains, which means this rum can stand longer aging than most warmer-climate rums. This is the case with this bottling, which has been aged in a solera system in a mixture of Port, Sherry and Bourbon casks. The solera system is a continuous form of maturation which tops up each cask with spirit from the next oldest every time some is bottled. It is more commonly seen in Sherry production than in spirits. The system produces an excellent consistency of age and flavour. In the 1893 Solera, the rums are produced from “virgin sugar cane honey” and aged for between 5 and 18 years before joining the Solera system.
On the nose this rum opens with wonderful aromas of vanilla, prunes, dried apricots, figs, brown sugar and red berries. The palate has a thick mouthfeel, with notes of brown sugar, fresh floral honey, toffee, red fruit, and tobacco smoke. The finish lingers for some time, and brings drying woodsmoke, chocolate and espresso. A luxury rum, at a very decent price indeed!